Improvement in lead-furnaces



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THE GRPHQ CO. PHOTO LTH.35& 4l PARK PLACE,N.Y.

UNrTEjD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN V. VVOODHOUSE, OF MIE LA MOTTE, .ASSIGNOR- OF ONE-THIRD HIS RIGHT TO GERARD B. ALLEN St CO., OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

`[MPROVEMENT IN- LEAD-FURNACES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 155,564, dated September 29, 1874; application tiled July 23, 1874. i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN V. WOOD HOUSE, of Mine La Motte, county of Madison, State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furnaces for Smelting Lead Ores, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to" the annexed drawing, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal section of my improvement. Fig. 2 represents a transverse sectional view of same at line as w, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a top plan of Fig. 1.

Similar letters indicate like parts.

My improvement is applicable especially to the Scotch hearth;77 and consists in a construction and arrangement by which a purer and better quality of lead is produced at less expense than by the. old method. This result is attained by reason of the complete control the smelter has over the heating of the ore, thus obviating all danger of burning and consequent waste, doing away with all necessity of reheating for the purpose of refining, and, in fact, making the whole process of smelting, from its inception to the final running into pigs, almost l continuous and uninterrupted, and in a mea-sure automatical.

-A, Figs. 1, 3, represents the ordinary basin, with its apron B, the ordinary blocks to confine the stock and hold the tuyeres, and also the walls and chimney, being omitted, as their constructionand arrangement are unchanged. This" basin A is extended so as to form a receiving-basin, C, Figs. 1, 3, the partition D between them being provided with an opening, a, closed by a gate, b, having several perforations. In the basin A is a transverse partition, '(1, reaching nearly to the bottom, as seen clearly in Fig. 1, thus forming a sub-basin, R. Beneath the basin O, and extending partly under the subbasin R, is afurnace, E, Figs. 1, 2, connected with the flue F, Figs. 2, 3, which opens into the main chimney or ilue, (not shown,) which is used to carry off'the fumes. In

- the bottom of the receiving-basin G, at one corner, is a drawoff valve, g, operated by the lever h, or in any other desired manner, and connected with'it is a trough, G, having a horizontal movement in the quadrant of a circle, so as to discharge its contents into the molds successively, the latter being, of course, arranged accordingly.

The operation of the furnace is as follows:

The fuel and charge of metal or ore being placed in the main basin A, (none in the sub basin R,) in the ordinary manner, the

ore, as it melts, sinks to the bottom, oating the fuel and lighter dross on its surface, and the pure'metal passes beneath the partition into the sub-basin R, rising up and filling it till, reaching an opening in the gate b, it esca-pes into the receiving-basin O, the point at which it is allowed to pass through the gate being regulated at pleasure, according as the ore is more or less refractory, in the former case the gate being adjusted to draw off the metal nearer the top of the basin than in the latter case, thus in suring a longer subjection to the heat. This is a point of great importance, since, if the ore is heated too much, it is injured, as was often the case under the old process, which imposed upon the smelter continuous and careful watching, to keep his dam77 higher or lower, so as to regulate the len gth of heatin g. Bythis arrangement, the gate being once adjusted to correspond lto the refractory nature of the ore, the operation thenceforward, so far as this point is concerned, is quite automatic till the tour 7 is completed. Having passed into the receiving-basin C, the oreis purified by poling77 in the usual manner, the impurities rising to the top, while the pure lead is drawn oft', through the exit-valve, into the trough, and thence into the molds. The basin O and subbasin lt are both kept continually hot by a lire in the furnace beneath th-em, thus preserving the lead at a uniform temperature throughout the whole process, and allowing no cooling whatever.

What I claim as my' invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the basin A, partition d, sub-basin R, and furnace E, as and for the purpose shown and specified..

2. The combination of the basin A, sub-bu- 4. The combination of' the basin A, sub-basin R, partition d, opening a, gate b, receivsin R, partition d, opening a, gate b, ,receiving-basin C, and furnace E, as and for the puring-basin C, valve g, furnace E, and spout G,

pose shown and specied. as and for the purpose shown and specified. 3. The combination of the basin A, sub-ba.- JOHN V. WOODHOUSE.

sin R, partition d, opening a, gate b, receiv- Witnesses:

ing-basin C, Valve g, and furnace E, as and for W. W. WATKINS,

the purpose shown and specified. JACOB H. LoNG. 

